Typewriting machine



Nov. 17, 1959 B; HOWARD 2,913,089

TYPEWRITING MACHINE Filed May 29, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet l,

v INVENTOR.

BERNARD HOWARD AT rqnus s B. HOWARD TYEEWRITING" MACH INE Nov. 17, 19594 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

asmvnao HOWARD hr-ronuzvs Filed May 29, 1957 N 7, 1 Y B. HOWARD2,913,089-

TYPEWRITING MACHINE Arrbnusvs Nov. 17, 1959 B. HOWARD TYPEWRITING momma'4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed May 29, 1957 INVENTOR. BERNARD Han/Ana United ats P en a TYPEWRITING MACHINE Bernard Howard, Ramsey,

Corporation, Jersey N.J., assignor to Teleprinter Hackensack, NJ., acorporation of New This invention relates to typewriting machines, andmore particularly to the printing and ink ribbon mechanism for the same.

The primary object of the present invention is to generally improvetypewriting machines.

A more particular object is to provide such a machine in which the linebeing printed is fully exposed to observation between the printing ofsuccessive characters, which requires movement of the printing mechanismand the inked ribbon. A further object is to improve the vibration ofthe ribbon between working and retracted positions; to make thispossible with minimum motion and inertia of moving parts; and to makethis possible in a machine in which the paper is stationary while theprinting point moves across the paper, thus minimizing the length ofidle ribbon available at the ends of the line to accommodate thevibration and all while maintaining the ribbon desirably taut.

Further objects are to improve the compactness of the machine, by anovel disposition of the spools for the inked ribbon. Another object isto provide an improved means for drive and reversal of spools in theirnew position.

The features of the invention are here shown applied to a telegraphicprinting machine, and a further and specific object of the invention isto generally improve the telegraphic printing machine disclosed in myPatent 2,769,029, issued October 20, 1956, and in my copendingapplication Serial No. 596,294, filed July 6, 1956 and entitledTelegraphic Printing Apparatus.

To accomplish the foregoing objects, and such other objects ashereinafter appear, my invention resides in the typewriting machineelements, and their relation one to another, as are hereinafter moreparticularly described in the following specification. The specificationis accompanied by drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a telegraphic printing machineembodying features of my invention;

Fig. 2 is an end view of a type cylinder used in the machine shown inFig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section through the type cylin der takenapproximately in the plane of line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an end view of ribbon turning means used at the ends of themachine shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the paper feed mechanism;

Fig. 6 is a bottom view of the same;

Fig. 7 is a front elevation of a ribbon guide;

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the same;

Fig. 9 is a front elevation of a second ribbon guide;

Fig. 10 is a side elevation, drawn to enlarged scale, of the head of thehammer;

Fig. 11 is an end view of the paper feed mechanism;

Fig. 12 is a section taken approximately in the plane of the line 12-12of Fig. 5;

Fig. 13 is a front elevation of the hammer mechanism;

Fig. 14 is a front elevation of the ribbon spool drive mechanism;

Fig. 15 is a transverse section showing the ribbon guide in workingposition;

Fig. 16 shows the ribbon guide in retracted position;

Fig. 17 shows the printing hammer in working position;

Fig. 18 shows the same parts in retracted position;

Fig. 19 is a view similar to Fig. 14 but showing a part of the actionwhen the end of the ribbon is reached;

Fig. 20 is a view similar to the left end of Fig. 19 but showingcompletion of reversal of ribbon feed;

Fig. 21 is a section drawn to enlarged scale and taken in the plane ofthe line 21-21 of Fig. 14;

Fig. 22 is a section taken approximately in the plane of the line 22-22in Fig. 14; and

Fig. 23 is a detail.

Referring to the drawing, and more particularly to Fig. 1, I there showa typewriting machine which is designed for telegraphic printing. Themechanism of the machine is generally like that disclosed in my Patent2,769,029, mentioned above, but the mechanism is disposed in horizontalrather than vertical position, and a keyboard K is slidably disposedbeneath the printer. In Fig. 1, the keyboard is shown in its retractedposition, that is, pushed back beneath the printer, but it may be movedout from beneath the printer to its working position. This arrangementof the printer and keyboard. are disclosed in my copending applicationSerial No. 596,294, mentioned above.

Referring to Fig. 1, the type body is shown at 12, and in this case, itis a type cylinder. The cooperating harnmer is shown at 14. The inkedribbon is illustrated in its retracted position at 16. The paper hasbeen omitted in order to better expose the parts of the machine.

Referring now to Fig. 17 of the drawing, the machine comprises a paperguide 18 which receives a sheet of paper 20. The type body 12 isdisposed behind the paper 20, and the inked ribbon 16 is disposed infront of thepaper. The hammer 14 is in front of the linked ribbon =16,and it has a flat face for engaging the ribbon. Thus, the desiredcharacter on the type body 12 is printed through the paper from behind,when the ribbon and paper are struck by the hammer.

In the particular machine here shown, the type body is a cylinder, as is'best shown in Figs. 2 and 3. It is octagonal in section, and thus maycarry eight characters around its periphery, as shown in Fig. 2, and itis eight characters long, as shown in Fig. 3, thus adapting the cylinderto carry as manyas 64 characters. The cylinder is splined to a shaft 22(Fig. 1) which has a keyway for that purpose. The cylinder is movableacross the paper, as well as being movable for character selection, andthe paper is not moved from side to side, that is, there is no slidablepaper carriage as in a conventional typewriter. The hammer 14 issimilarly slidably keyed to a hammer shaft, best shown at 30 in Fig. 17.The hammer is slidable for movement across the paper in order to keep itin front of the type cylinder. The operating movement of the hammer isproduced by oscillation of the shaft 30. The sliding movement of thehammer is produced by a cable, secured to the hammer at 32 with the aidof suitable adjusting screws. The sliding movement of the type cylinder12 (Fig. 1) is similarly produced by means of a cable which may beconnected to a yoke 34 (Figs. 1 and 15) enclosing the ends of the typecylinder.

With this arrangement, the ribbon 16 extends across the machine fromside to side, and is used over almost central printing position toaccommodate the vertical movement. In the present machine, there is onlya very Patented Nov. 17, 1959,

short length of idle ribbon at each end beyond the edges of the paper.Moreover, it is also desirable to minimize the stroke of the vibration,and the inertia of the vibrating parts.

Referring now to Figs. and 16 of the drawing, the ribbon 16 is carriedin a ribbon guide 36. This is pivotally connected to linkage 38 and 49operated by a shaft 30 to vibrate the guide and ribbon between a workingposition shown in Fig. 15, and a retracted position shown in Fig. 16. Itwill be seen that the working position brings the ribbon substantiallyupright in front of the line being printed on the paper 20. Theretracted position is lower and more nearly horizontal, and therebyexposes the line being printed. Essentially, the ribbon is twisted,instead of being vibrated merely vertical ly in its own plane.

In the present case, the operating means 30 is preferably the hammershaft previously referred to. It carries generally upright arms 40 ateach end of the shaft, the lower ends of the arms being secured to theshaft 39, and the upper ends being pivotally secured at 42 to the lowerends of the ribbon guides. The links 38 are generally horizontal andhave their outer ends pivoted on the machine at 44, while their innerends are pivotally connected at 46 to the ribbon guides. Thus, theoscillation of the shaft 36 to operate the hammer also vibrates theribbon between its working and its retracted posi' tions.

Fig. 18 shows the hammer 14 and the ribbon 16 in their retractedpositions, thus exposing the line being printed, which is located at 48in front of the type cylinder 12. The ribbon vibration may be rapid andrelatively inertialess because only the ribbon guides and linkage aremoved, and the movement is largely an arcuate twisting movement, ratherthan a true vibration of considerable stroke.

Reverting to Fig. 1, one of the two ribbon guides is shown at 36 nearone end of the machine. It will be understood that there is a similarbut mirror reversed ribbon guide at the other end of the machine. Thedetailed construction of these ribbon guides will be clear fromexamination of Figs. 7, 8 and 9 of the drawing. Figs. 7 and 8 show (inenlarged scale) the ribbon guide 36, which is at the left end of themachine. It is essentially a link 50 With holes 42 and 46 at its ends,the said link being formed integrally with a guide loop 36. To avoidhaving to pass the ribbon endwise through the guide loop, it ispreferably helically slotted, as shown at 52, thus making it possible tothread the ribbon through the slot and into the guide withoutdisconnecting the ends of the ribbon from the spools. At its lower end,the ribbon guide is provided with a hearing at 54 having a hole 56aligned with the hole 42 previously referred to.

Referring now to Fig. 9, the ribbon guide 58 is used at the right end ofthe machine. It is identical to that shown in Fig. 7, except thatpreferably it is a mirror image, with the link 60 on the right handside, and with the helical slot 62 sloping in opposite direction to slot52 in Fig. 7.

The head of the hammer is shown drawn to enlarged scale in Fig. 10. Thiscomprises a striking plate 70 which is slightly rockable on a fulcrumpin 72 relative to the main head 74 of the hammer. A compressiblematerial such as rubber, or a plastics material having thecharacteristics of rubber, is interposed as shown at 76. In effect thestriking surface is somewhat self-adjustable. The rearwardly projectingarm 78 of the hammer has a hole 80 for mounting the same on a hammer arm82, best shown in Figs. 13 and 17. In Fig. 13 it will be seen that theupper end of the hammer arm is bifurcated at 84 to receive the part 78of the hammer head, these being locked together, as by a screw 86. Thelower end of arm 82 is secured to or formed integrally with a hub 88,which is slidably splined or keyed to the hammer shaft 30 previouslyreferred to, as by means of a long key 31.

The paper feed arrangement is best shown in Figs. 5, 6, 11 and 12. Thiscomprises a paper guide 18 having a cross section somewhat like theletter I. A paper feed roll is rotatable in the paper guide. Itcooperates with a series of four pressure. rollers 92 which pass throughwindows or slots in the bottom of the paper guide 18, so that they canbear against the feed roll 90. The pressure rollers 92 are carried on ashaft 94, and are resiliently urged upward.

The paper feed roll 90 may be turned manually by means of a knob. 96(Figs. 5 and 6). It will be understood that a sheet of paper (or'thestarting end of a roll of paper) is readily threaded downward and thenupward by rotating the feed roll, the paper being guided into the biteor nip of the rolls by the paper guide 18. The upward pass of the papercomes in front of the type cylinder'and receives the printing.

The intermittent feed or stepping of the paper from line to line isaccomplished by aratchet wheel 98 (Figs. 5, 6 and 11) at one end of thefeed roll. This is operated on by a suitable pawl shown at 100 in Fig.15 of the drawing.

Reverting now to Fig. l of the drawing, the ends of the inked ribbon 16are wound on spaced ribbon spools 102 and 104. It will be noted thatthese spools are disposed in an upright plane in front of the machine,and within the ends of the machine, for compactness. Indeed, when themachine is but little wider than the paper, as here shown, a part ofeach spool is in front of the paper. For this purpose, the machine ispreferably provided with ribbon turning means at the ends of the machinefor turning the ribbon forwardly and then downwardly, following whichthe ribbon is led to the spools. The angular ribbon turning means aregenerally indicated in Fig. l at 106 and 108, while additional guidemeans in the form of rollers are indicated at 110 and 112.

The angularly disposed or sloping turning means for the right end of themachine are better shown in Fig. 4 of the drawing, there being a firstangularly disposed turning means 114 which turns the ribbon forwardly,and a second angularly disposed turning means 116 which turns the ribbondownwardly. In the particular case here shown, the turning means 114 isa roller, while the turning means 116 is smoothly finished sheet metal.The structure shown consists of a single piece of metal having edgeflanges 118- and 12% between which the ribbon is guided. The resultingtrack is smoothly bent or rounded at 116 to provide a forwardlyextending portion 122, and a downwardly extending portion 124. This isextended by a thin flat resilient strip 125. The roller 114 is carriedin bearings formed by extending the flanges 118, 12% It will beunderstood that the second turning means. 116 may be a roller, or a,polished round bar, instead of bent metal as shown, and conversely, theturning means 114 may be a polished round bar, or bent sheet metal,instead of a roller as shown.

The angle of roller 114 is a compromise. One purpose is to turn theribbon forward. However, it is also desired to support the ribbon at anangle which is about half way between its working position and itsretracted position, so that the vibration or twist of the ribbon will beto either side of a mid position set by the roller 114. In such case,the ribbon may be quite taut, without interfering with vibration of thesame, despite the relatively short length of the end portions beyond oroutside the two vibrating ribbon guides.

Referring now to Fig. 14 of the drawing, the turning means 116 is shownat the right end. A similar but mirror image" turning means is employedat 126 at the left end. From the latter,-the ribbon runs downward to aroller 110, and then to another roller 128, and thence upward to spool102, The leaf spring 1.25 holds the ribbon against roller 110 and actsas a light brake during reversal.

At the other end of the machine, the ribbon runs downward inside leafspring 125 and around a roller 112, and thence inward to a roller 130,and thence to spool 104.

The spools may be operated and may be reversed at intervals byappropriate mechanism. In the present case,

spool 104 is secured to a ratchet wheel 132 operated by a pawl 134. Thespool is held against return movement by a check dog 136 urged inward bya pull spring 138. The pa'wl is carried at one end of a lever or rocker140 which rocks about a pivot 142 with a see saw action. The pawl has aspring 135.

At the other end of the machine, spool 102 is similarly secured to aratchet wheel 144. This also has a pawl 146 and a check dog 148 withpull springs 147 and 150, but the pawl and dog are held outward ininoperative position by means of a pawl shift bar 152, here shown in itsleft position. The shift bar remains in either a left or right position,because of an over-thecenter spring 154. When the shift bar is in itsright position, the pawl 146 becomes operative, and pawl 134 is madeinoperative, along with their respective check dogs. Thus, the directionof feed of the ribbon is reversed.

Main operating lever or rocker 140 (Fig. 14) is given its rocking orsee-saw action by means of a finger 152, the bifurcated end of whichstraddles a pin 154 at the free end of an extension 156 of lever 140..Fig. 23 shows the bifurcated end of finger 152 straddling pin 154.Finger 152 is oscillated by linkage in the telegraphic printing machineassociated with the operation of the hammer, so that there is onevibration for each vibration of the hammer, the motion of the ribbonpreferably taking place during the return motion of the hammer. Thus, anew area of ribbon is moved in front of the hammer before each stroke.

In Fig. 22, it will be seen that the extension 156 is located in back ofthe main stationary plate 158 on which all parts of the ribbon feedmechanism are mounted. Reverting to Fig. 14, the rocker 14% itself isdisposed in front of the stationary plate 158,.but the latter is cutaway at 160, and rocker 140 is offset or stepped rearwardly through thewindow 160, thus bringing the extension 156 behind the plate 158. Theleft end of plate 158 is provided with a similar window 160, and theleft end of rocker 140 is similarly stepped rearward, but this is merelyto permit pawl 146 to operate in the same plane as the ratchet wheel144.

The ribbon reversal is initiated by a small eyelet or rivet r secured tothe ribbon near each end. Ribbons are already made and sold with sucheyelets for use on typewriters. In Fig. 14, the ribbon is being wound onspool 104, and has been nearly completely unwound from spool 102, thusexposing an eyelet 162 which is shown approaching roller 128. Afterroller 128, the ribbon passes through an open ended slit 164 in theforwardly turned end of a slide bar 166. The latter has a similarforwardly turned slit part 168 at its right end, through which theribbon passes near roller 130. The slide bar 166 is slotted. at 170- and172 to receive stationary pins 174 which help mount upright bearingstrips 176 on stationary plate 158. The strips 176 are further held byupper pins 178, and the spacing between bearing strips 176 and backplate 158 is such as to afford free movement of pawl shift bar 152,rocker lever 140, and slide bar 166, all of which are guided by theupright bearing strips 176, and held against movement away from backplate 158.

The configuration of the forwardly turned end 168 of slide bar 166 willbe seen from inspection of Fig. 22. The slot is ample for free passageof the inked ribbon, but not for the eyelet, and reverting to Fig. 14,it will be seen that when eyelet 162 reaches the slit at 164, the slidebar 166 will be moved to the left by the continued motion of the ribbon.

Referring now to Fig. 19, the eyelet 162 has moved slide bar 166 partway to the left. The pawl shift bar 162 has not yet moved, and the pawlscontinue to operate as before. The slide bar 166 carries two stops orabutments 180 and 182. The rocker carries two small angle levers 184 and186. These have dependingzarms which cooperate with projections or pins188 and 190 on pawl shift bar 152. In Fig. 19, the stop 182 has beenmoved away from angle lever 186, and the stop has been moved towardangle lever 184.

If the latter is down, as shown, the stop 180 momentarily abuts the endof lever 184. However, as the left end of rocker 140 rises with lever184, the stop 180 slides beneath lever 184, and then when'the left endof rocker 140 again descends, the lever 184 bears against stop 180. Thiscauses the lever to turn from the position shown in Fig. 19 to thatshown in Fig. 20, thus causing the depending arm of the lever to movethe pin 188 and the pawl shift bar 152 to the right, as shown in Fig.20.

It will be noted that at this time, the over-the-center spring 154 hasmoved to a position opposite that shown in Fig. 14, thus tending to holdthe slide bar 166 to the left, and the pawl shift bar 152 to the right.In any case, the latter movement frees the tail ends of the operatingpawl 146 and the check dog 148, which thereupon engage the ratchet wheel144 and thereupon become operative to turn the ratchet wheel. It thenturns in opposite direction, as indicated by arrow 192, and rewinds theribbon on the left spool, while unwinding it from the right spool.Although the right end is not shown in Fig. 20, it will be understood byreference to Fig. 19 that the motion of pawl shift bar 152 to the rightdisengages pawl 134 and check dog 136 from the ratchet wheel 132, thusfreeing the right spool for unwinding of the ribbon at the same instantthat the left spool begins to wind the ribbon. It will also beunderstood that an eyelet like the eyelet 162 is provided near the otherend of the ribbon for cooperation with the slit end 168 of slide bar166, so that the ribbon may be fed back and forth repeatedly.

The motion of the ribbon and its eyelet does not have to perform thework of shifting the pawls. The ribbon merely slides the slide bar 168,which sets up suitable conditions for shifting the pawls, but the actualwork of doing so is performed by a force obtained directly from therocker 140. It will also be understood other end of the ribbon isreached, it is the reaction of stop 182 on angle lever 186 which causesthe latter to bear against pin 190, and so to shift the pawl shift bar152 from its right hand position, shown in Fig. 20 of the drawing, toits left hand position, shown in Figs. 14 and 19 of the drawing, thusdisengaging pawl 146 and engaging pawl 134. Thus, the slide bar 166moves the stop means. The drive means (rocker 140) moves the shift means(184, 186), to move the pawl shift tbar 152, but the shift means 184,186 is normally inoperative, and is made momentarily operative by theslide bar.

It should be understood that in some cases, the printer may be disposedgenerally vertical, instead of horizontal as shown in Fig. '1, and insuch case the ribbon spools would lie in a horizontal plane instead of avertical plane, and the printing would be read by looking downward fromabove. It will therefore be understood that the reference in the claimsto the spools being upright is in tended to be understood in a relativesense, relative to the paper being printed, which here is also generallyupright. It rs belreved that the construction and operation, as

well as the advantages of my improved typewriting machine, will beapparent fromthe foregoing detailed description.

The hammer head is self-adjustable. The ribbon twist vibration minimizesmotion, and is'possible with a reasonably taut ribbon despite the shortlength of idle ribbon at each end of the machine available toaccommodate the vibration. The moving metal parts which Vibrate theribbon are small, simple, and may be made very light in that when theweight, thus minimizing, inertia. Despite the small twist motion of theribbon, it is moved fully out of the way of the line being printed, thusexposing the line for easy reading. The ribbon spo ls may be quite largein diameter relative to the small size of the machine, and may bedisposed in front of the machine within the ends of the machine, andindeed, even partially in front of the paper, so that there is noappreciable loss of compactness, while using large standard typewriterspools. The direction of feed of the ribbon is reversed without puttingany appreciable load on the ribbon itself to cause the reversal ofdirection. Any slack which may tend to form in the ribbon during ribbonreversal is prevented from reaching the active or working length ofribbon in front of the paper, by the smooth spring brakes 125. Theentire ribbon mechanism except for the loops 36, 52 is mounted on asingle plate 158, attached by only two screws 159, and thus is readilyremovable for servicing, or for a machine which is to be used with aspecial paper having a coating of pressure sensitive ink. This lessensthe mechanical load, and lessens the weight, as when the unit is to beairborne.

It will be apparent that while I have shown and described my inventionin a preferred form, changes may be made in the structure shown, withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention as sought to be defined in thefollowing claims.

I claim:

1. In a typewriting machine utilizing an inked ribbon, and in which theprinting point moves step by step across'the paper while the paperremains stationary, ribbon vibrating mechanism comprising two spacedribbon guides outside the side edges of the paper, said guides beingpivotally connected to linkage supporting the same at each end of themachine, and means so operating the linkages in unison as to vibrate theguides and ribbon between a working position and a retracted position,said working position bringing the entire length of the ribbon which isin front of the paper substantially upright in front of the line beingprinted, and said retracted position being more nearly horizontal andthereby exposing the entire line being printed.

2. In a typewriting machine utilizing an inked ribbon, ribbon vibratingmechanism comprising two spaced ribbon guides, an oscillatablehorizontal shaft below said guides, generally upright arms having theirlower ends secured to said shaft, and having their upper ends pivotallysecured to the lower ends of the ribbon guides, and generally horizontallinks having their forward ends pivoted on the machine, and having theirrear ends pivotally connected to the upper ends of the ribbon guides,the oscillation of said shaft causing vibration of the guides and ribbonbetween working and retracted positions, said working position bringingthe ribbon substantially upright in front of the line being printed, andsaid retracted position being more nearly horizontal and therebyexposing the line being printed.

3. In a typewriting machine utilizing an inked ribbon, and in which theprinting point moves step by step across the paper while the paperremains stationary, ribbon vibrating mechanism comprising a ribbon guidenear one side edge of the paper, a ribbon guide near the other side edgeof the paper, an oscillatable horizontal shaft below said guides,generally upright arms having their lower ends secured to said shaft,and having their upper ends pivotally secured to the lower ends of theribbon guides, and links having their forward ends pivoted on themachine, and having their rear ends pivotally connected to the upperends of the ribbon guides, the oscillation of said shaft causingvibration of the guides and ribbon between working and retractedpositions, said working, position bringing the ribbon substantiallyupright in front of the line being printed, and said retracted positionbeing more nearly horizontal and thereby exposing the line beingprinted.

4. In a typewriting machine utilizing an inked ribbon, and in which theprinting point moves step by step across the paper while the paperremains stationary, ribbon vibrating mechanism comprising a helicallyslotted ribbon guide beyond one side edge of the paper, a helicallyslotted ribbon guide beyond the other side edge of the paper, anoscillatable horizontal shaft below said guides, generally upright armshaving their lower ends secured to said shaft, and having their upperends pivotally secured to the lower ends of the ribbon guides, andgenerally horizontal links having their forward ends pivoted on themachine, and having their rear ends pivotally connected to the upperends of the ribbon guides, the oscillation of said shaft causingvibration of the guides and ribbon between working and retractedpositions, said working position bringing the ribbon substantiallyupright in front of the line being printed, and said retracted positionbeing lower and more nearly horizontal and thereby exposing the linebeing printed.

5. A typewriting machine comprising means to guide a sheet of paper, ashaft behind said paper, a type body slidably splined to said shaft formovement across the paper, an inked ribbon in front of the paper, ahammer in front of the ribbon, said hammer being slidable for movementacross the paper to keep it in front of the type body, the desiredcharacter on the type body being printed through the paper from behindwhen the ribbon is struck by the hammer, a ribbon guide near one sideedge of the paper, a ribbon guide near the other side edge of the paper,linkage pivotally secured to the ribbon guides, and means actuating thelinkage in timed relation to the hammer in order to vibrate the guidesand ribbon between working and retracted positions, said workingposition bringing the ribbon substantially upright in front of the linebeing printed and in the path of the hammer, and said retracted positionbeing more nearly horizontal and thereby exposing the line beingprinted.

6. A typewriting machine comprising means to guide a sheet of paper, ashaft behind said paper, a type body slidably splined to said shaft formovement across the paper, an inked ribbon in front of the paper, ahammer shaft, a hammer in front of the ribbon, said hammer beingslidably splined to said shaft for movement across the paper to keep itin front of the type body, the desired character on the type body beingprinted through the paper from behind when the ribbon is struck by thehammer, a ribbon guide near one side edge of the paper, a ribbon guidenear the other side edge of the paper, generally upright arms havingtheir lower ends secured to said hammer shaft, and having their upperends pivotally secured to the lower ends of the ribbon guides, andgenerally horizontal links having their forwards ends pivoted on themachine, and having their rear ends pivotally connected to the upperends of the ribbon guides, the oscillation of said hammer shaft causingvibration of the guides and ribbon between working and retractedpositions, said working position bringing the ribbon substantiallyupright in front of the line being printed and in the path of thehammer, and said retracted position being more nearly horizontal andthereby exposing the line being printed.

7. A typewriting machine comprising means to guide a sheet of paper, ashaft behind said paper, a type cylinder slidably splined to said shaftfor movement across the paper and also for character selection, an inkedribbon in front of the paper, a hammer shaft, a hammer in front of theribbon, said hammer being slidably splined to said shaft for movementacross the paper to keep it in front of the type cylinder, the desiredcharacter on the type cylinder being printed through the paper, frombehind when the ribbon is struck by the hammer, a helically slottedribbon guide beyond one side edge of: the paper, a helically slottedribbon guide beyond the other side edge of the paper, generally uprightarms having their lower ends secured to said hammer shaft,

and having their upper ends pivotally secured to the lower ends of theribbon guides, and generally horizontal links having their forward endspivoted on the machine, and having their rear ends pivotally connectedto the upper ends of the ribbon guides, the oscillation of said hammershaft causing vibration of the guides and ribbon between working andretracted positions, said working position bringing the ribbonsubstantially upright in front of the line being printed and in thepathof the hammer, and said retracted position being lower and more nearlyhorizontal and thereby bringing the ribbon below the line being printedin order to expose the same.

8. In a typewriting machine utilizing an inked ribbon mechanism forcarrying two ribbon spools, said mechanism having means mounting saidspools in an upright plane in front of said machine and within the endsof said machine for compactness, sloping ribbon turning means at eachend of the machine for turning the ribbon forwardly, another slopingribbon turning means at each end of the machine for turning the ribbondownwardly :to said spools, said ribbon being very short and generallyupright in the forwardly extending portion between the two slopingribbon turning means at each end, said sloping means being close to oneanother.

9. In a typewriting machine utilizing an inked ribbon, mechanism forcarrying and rotating two ribbon spools, said mechanism having meansmounting said spools in an upright plane in front of said machine andwithin the ends of said machine for compactness, a sloping ribbonturning means at each end of the machine for turning the ribbonforwardly, another sloping ribbon turning means at each end of themachine for turning the ribbon downwardly, a horizontal roller at eachend of the machine for turning the ribbon inwardly to said spools, saidribbon being very short and generally upright in the forwardly-extendingportion between the two sloping ribbon turning means at each end, saidsloping means being close to one another, a ratchet wheel for eachspool, a pawl for each ratchet wheel, and means to make one pawl or theother operative.

10. In a typewriting machine utilizing an inked rib bon, mechanism forcarrying and rotating two ribbon spools, said mechanism having meansmounting. said spools in an upright plane in front of said machine andwithin the ends of said machine for compactness, a sloping ribbonturning means at each end of the machine for turning the ribbonforwardly, another sloping ribbon turning means at each end of themachine for turning the ribbon downwardly, means leading the ribbon tosaid spools, said ribbon being very short and generally upright in theforwardly extending portion between the two sloping ribbon turning meansat each end, said sloping means being close to one another, a ratchetwheel for eachspool, a pawl for each ratchet wheel, means for operatingsaid pawls, and a pawl shift bar for making one of said pawls operativeand the other inoperative forfeeding the ribbon in one direction, andvice versa for feeding the ribbon in opposite direction.

11. A typewriting machine comprising means to guide a sheet of paper, ashaft behind said paper, a type body slidably splined to said shaft formovement'across the paper, an inked ribbon in front of the paper, ahammer in front of the ribbon, said hammer being slidable for movementacross the paper to keep it in front of the type body, the desiredcharacter on the type body being printed through the paper from behindwhen the ribbon is struck by the hammer, Uwo ribbon spools, meansmounting said spools in an upright plane in front of said machine andwithin the ends of said machine for compactness, and two angularlydisposed ribbon turning means at each end of the machine for turning theribbon forwardly and then downwardly to said spools.

12. A typewriting machine comprising means to guide a sheet of paper, aninked ribbon, ribbon vibrating mechameans carrying said pawls foroperating the same, a pawl nism comprising two spaced ribbon guidesnear'the side edges of the paper, each guide being pivotally connectedto linkage supporting the same, means so operating the linkage as tovibrate the guides and ribbon between a Working position and a retractedposition, said working position bringing the ribbon substantiallyupright in front of the line being printed, and said retracted positionbeing lower and more nearly horizontal and thereby bringing the ribbonbelow the line being printed in order to expose the same, two ribbonspools, means mounting said spools in an upright plane in front of saidmachine and within the ends of said machine for compactness, and twoangularly disposed ribbon turning means at each end of the machineoutside the ribbon guides for turning the ribbon forwardly and thendownwardly to said spools.

13. A typewriting machinecomprising means to guide a sheet of paper, ashaft behind said paper, a type body slidably splined to said shaft formovement across the paper, an inked ribbon in front of the paper, ahammer shaft, a hammer in front of the ribbon, said hammer beingslidably splined to said shaft for movement across the paper to keep itin front of the type body, the desired character on the type body beingprinted through the paper from behind when the ribbon is struck by thehammer, a ribbon guide near one side edge of the paper, a ribbon guidenear the other side edge of the paper, generally upright arms havingtheir lower ends secured to said hammer shaft, and having their upperends pivotally secured to the lower ends of the ribbon guides, links having their forward ends pivoted on the machine, and having their rearends pivotally connected to the upper ends of the ribbon guides, theoscillation of said hammer shaft causing vibration of the guides andribbon between working and retracted positions, said working positionbringing the ribbon substantially upright in front of the line beingprinted and in the path of the hammer, and said retracted position beingmore nearly horizontal and thereby exposing the line beingprinted, tworibbon spools, means mounting said spools in an upright plane in frontof said machine for compactness, and two angularly disposed ribbonturning means at each end of the machine outside the-ribbon guides forturning the ribbon forwardly and then downwardly to said spools.

14. In a typewriting machine, an inked ribbon mechanism for carrying androtating two ribbon spools, a ratchet wheel for each spool, a pawl foreach ratchet wheel, drive shift bar for making one of said pawlsoperative and the other inoperative in order to feed the ribbon in onedirection or the other, a slide bar extending generally parallel to saidshift bar and having a slit at each end through which the ribbon passes,but against which an eyelet near the end of the ribbon bears and causesmovement of said slide bar, stop means carried by said slide bar,normally inoperative shift means actuatable by said drive means to shiftthe pawl shift bar, and means whereby shifting of the stop means makesthe shift means momentarily operative to shift the pawl shift bar.

15. In a typewriting machine, an inked ribbon mechanism for carrying androtating two ribbon spools, a ratchet wheel for each spool, a pawl foreach ratchet wheel, a rocker carrying one of said pawls at each end foroperating the same, a pawl shift bar for making one of said pawlsoperative and the other inoperative for feeding the ribbon in onedirection or the other, a slide bar extending generally parallel to saidshift bar and having a slit at each end through which the ribbon passes,but against which an eyelet near the end of the ribbon bears and causesmovement of said slide bar, stops carried by said slide bar, and anglelevers carried by said rocker at a spacing such that one stop interceptsone angle lever or vice versa, and the resulting movement of the anglelever against the stop by the rocker causes the angle lever to shift thepawl shift bar.

16. In a typewriting machine, an inked ribbon mechanism for carrying,and rotating two ribbon. spools, said mechanism having means mountingsaid spools in an upright plane in front of the said machine and withinthe ends of said machine for compactness, two angularly disposed ribbonturning means at each end of the machine for turning the ribbonforwardly and then downwardly to said spools, a ratchet wheel for eachspool, a pawl for each ratchet wheel, a rocker carrying said pawls foroperating the same, a pawl shift bar for making: one of said pawlsoperative and the other inoperative for feeding the ribbon in onedirection or the other, a slide bar extending generally parallel to saidshift bar and having a slit at each end through which the ribbon passes,but against which an eyelet near the end of the ribbon bears and causesmovement of said slide bar, stops carried by said slide bar, and anglelevers carried by said rocker at a spacing such that one stop interceptsone angle lever, and the resulting movement of the angle lever againstthe stop by the rocker causes the angle lever to shift the pawl shiftbar.

17. A typewriting machine comprising means to guide a sheet of paper, atype body on one side of the paper, a relatively long hammer arm on theother side of the paper, means to oscillate the hammer arm, the free endof said hammer arm having a head comprising an inner rigid surface, aplate having a hammer face disposed in front of said surface, and afulcrum therebetween affording limited self-adjustable movement of theface relative to the surface.

'18. A typewriting machine comprising means to guide a sheet of paper, atype body on one side of the paper, a relatively long, hammer arm on theother side of the paper, means to oscillate the hammer arm, the free endof said hammer arm having a head comprising an inner rigid surface, aplate having a hammer face disposed in front of said surface, a fulcrumtherebetween affording limited self-adjustable movement of the facerelative to the surface, and cushioning material therebetween aroundsaid fulcrum to permit yet slightly inhibit self-adjustable movement ofthe face relative to the surface.

19. In a typewriting machine utilizing an inked ribbon, mechanism forcarrying and rotating two ribbon spools, said mechanism having meansmounting said spools in an upright plane in front of said machine andwithin the ends of said machine for compactness, sloping ribbon turningmeans at each end of the machine for turning the ribbon forwardly,another sloping ribbon turning means at each end of the machine forturning the ribbon downwardly to said spools, said ribbon being veryshort and generally upright in the forwardly extending portion betweenthe two sloping ribbon turning means at each end, said sloping meansbeing close to one another, a ratchet wheel for each spool, a pawl foreach ratchet wheel, means for operating said pawls, a pawl shift meansfor making one of said pawls operative and the other inoperative forfeeding the ribbon in one direction and vice versa for feeding theribbon in opposite direction, and an upright back plate on which all ofsaid mechanism is mounted, said back plate being secured to pawl andratchet mechanism for driving one spool or the other in order to feedthe ribbon in one direction or the other, reverse means actuated byeyelets on said ribbon near the ends of said ribbon to make one pawlmechanism operative and the other inoperative in order to reverse thedirection of feed of the ribbon, a resilient strip bearing against saidribbon between said reverse means at one end and the working portion,and a resilient strip bearing against said ribbon between said reverse'means at the other end and said working portion, said strips exerting aslight braking pressure on said'ribbon to keep the same taut at saidworking portion even during reversing of said ribbon feed.

21. A typewriting machine comprising means to guide a sheet of paper, aninked ribbon, ribbon vibrating mechanism comprising two spaced ribbonguides near the side edges of the paper, each guide being pivotallyconnected to linkage supporting the same, means so operating the linkageas to vibrate the guides and ribbon between a working position and aretracted position, said working position bringing the ribbonsubstantially upright in front of the line being printed, and saidretracted position being lower and more nearly horizontal and therebybringing the ribbon below the line being printed in order to expose thesame, two ribbon spools, pawl and ratchet mechanism for driving onespool or the other in order to feed the ribbon in one direction or theother, reverse means actuated by eyelets on said ribbon near the ends ofsaid ribbon to make one pawl mechanism operative and the otherinoperative in order to appropriately reverse the direction of feed ofthe ribbon, a resilient strip bearing against said ribbon outside one ofsaid ribbon guides, and a resilient strip bearing against the saidribbon outside the other of said ribbon guides, said strips exerting aslight braking pressure on said ribbon to keep the same taut betweensaid ribbon guides even during reversing of said ribbon feed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

